Virology
TWiV 430: The persistence of herpesvirus
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
The TWiX cabal discuss sexual transmission of Zika virus in mice, and how immune escape enables herpes simplex virus escape from latency. You can find TWiV #430 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 430 (63 MB .mp3, 104 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
How prions make you sick
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are rare, but always fatal, neurodegenerative disorders of humans and other mammals. They are characterized by long incubation periods, spongiform changes in the brain associated with loss of neurons, and the absence of host responses. TSEs are caused by infectious proteins called prions. Insight into how prions cause TSEs comes from the observation that …
TWiV 429: Zika Experimental Science Team
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Vincent meets with members of team ZEST at the University of Wisconsin Madison to discuss their macaque model for Zika virus pathogenesis. You can find TWiV #429 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen/watch right here. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV429.mp3″] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 429 (48 MB .mp3, 78 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
Viral RNA is not infectious virus!
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Commentary, Information
A study of sexual transmission of Zika virus among mice (link to paper) demonstrates beautifully that viral nucleic acid detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is not the same as infectious virus. Male mice were infected with Zika virus and then mated with female mice. Efficient sexual transmission of the virus from males to females was observed. This …
TWiV 428: Lyse globally, protect locally
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
The TWiVsters explain how superspreader bacteriophages release intact DNA from infected cells, and the role of astrocytes in protecting the cerebellum from virus infection. You can find TWiV #428 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV428.mp3″] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 428 (65 MB .mp3, 108 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
Bacteriophage superspreaders
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
Bacteriophages are the most abundant biological entities on Earth. There are 1031 of them on the planet, and they infect 1023 to 1025 bacteria every second. That’s a lot of lysis, and it leads to the release of huge quantities of DNA that can be taken up by other organisms, leading to new traits. It …
David Tuller
Trial By Error: Video of October Talk in Ireland on How “Biopsychosocial” Research on ME, Long Covid, and Related Illnesses Harms Patients
By David Tuller, DrPH In October, I spent 10 days traveling around Ireland and giving a talk called “Bad Science, Bad Medicine: How Flawed Biopsychosocial Studies on ME, Long Covid, etc Harm Patients.” (I wrote about the trip here.) I came as a guest of the Irish ME/CFS Association, which had previously arranged similar tours …
Trial By Error: Some Things I’ve Read Recently–Long Covid and Fertility Issues, Psychotherapy Ethics, How to Fake Your Results
By David Tuller, DrPH It’s been a slow period. Here are a few things I’ve read recently… “The pandemic’s untold fertility story” While Long Covid disproportionately affects women, its impact on their reproductive lives has not received the attention the issue deserves. Recently, Australia’s ABC News addressed the issue with a moving piece called “The …
Trial By Error: Cochrane Continues Telling ME/CFS Patients to Go F–k Themselves
By David Tuller, DrPH Update/Correction: Below, I initially wrote that Cochrane was lying in describing the update plan as a “pilot project.” However, it turns out that the organization did describe its plan to engage community partners as a “pilot project.” Here’s the statement from March, 2020: “Cochrane is conducting a pilot project for engaging …
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Trial By Error: Cochrane Tells ME/CFS Patients to Go F–k Themselves
By David Tuller, DrPH Cochrane has just given the finger to the international ME/CFS community. After jerking everyone around and promising for five years to conduct a new review of exercise interventions for the illness, the organization abruptly abandoned that commitment this week. On Monday, Cochrane posted the following message on its website: “In 2019, …
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Trial By Error: Agencies Respond to Coroner’s Report in Boothby O’Neill Inquest
Update: Maeve’s mum, Sarah Boothby, has commented on this blog. I am posting her comment here: Sorry if this seems picky but Maeve did not die in hospital [DT: Fixed! Not sure how I made this error] and the RDUH Trust document is what we call a treatment pathway. It is the first of its …
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Trial By Error: Letter to BMJ Editor Seeking Correction in New Review of Interventions for Long Covid
By David Tuller, DrPH The BMJ recently published a review of interventions for Long Covid that–surprise!–recommended CBT and a rehabilitation program as treatments. The review is full of holes. I have focused on one in particular. The review relies for its rehabilitation recommendation on an earlier BMJ study–even though that study has itself already been …